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Arlington County NewsroomSun, 20 Jan 2019 13:32:40 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.9Guide to Celebrating the Holidays in Arlingtonhttps://newsroom.arlingtonva.us/release/holidays-safety-christmas-tree-snow-guide/
Thu, 13 Dec 2018 20:53:01 +0000https://newsroom.arlingtonva.us/?post_type=news_release&p=19869The holidays can be a wonderful time in Arlington, a chance to celebrate with family, spend time with friends, and reflect on a new year.

Arlington’s guide to the holidays is here to help make this season fun, festive and safe. We hope it is truly the most wonderful time of the year, no matter how you choose to celebrate.

Make a List, and Check it Twice

Ensure your holidays are as festive as they are safe by keeping in mind some of these tips and precautions this season.

Keep Your Pipes FOG Free — Don’t let the health of our sewers go down the drain — especially during the big cooking (and eating) holidays. Fats, oils and grease, known collectively as “FOG,” represent the most serious enemy of our sewer lines and is the No. 1 cause of sewage backups in homes. FOG builds up in sewer lines when people wash grease down the drain. Can it, cool it, and throw it away.

If You See Something, Say Something® this Holiday Season — With the busy Holiday Season upon us, residents and visitors of Arlington are asked to help keep our community safe by remaining engaged and alert. Police are reminding the public about the importance of the “See Something, Say Something®” anti-terrorism public awareness campaign and urging residents to report suspicious activity for investigation.

Holiday Food Safety Tips — As the end of the year approaches, it’s likely there are multiple meals and parties in your future. Carrying food from one location to another and sharing dishes with a crowd means more opportunity for bacteria to grow and cause food poisoning. Whether you’re an experienced cook or simply adding a dish to the potluck lineup, follow these steps to keep your holiday season food poisoning-free.

A Partridge in a Pear Tree

There is no shortage of great options for your holiday shopping in Arlington (have you checked out the Made in Arlington pop-up market?). With major indoor and outdoor shopping venues, charming European-style promenades, and hundreds of specialty shops and boutiques, you’ll find exactly what you’re looking for in Arlington. And while you’re shopping this holiday season, keep in mind these great opportunities to help those who may be less fortunate.

Secret Santa — Want to help kids in foster care, low-income families and seniors, and people with disabilities? Learn how donating gift cards from area stores to the Secret Santa Program can make the holidays a bit brighter for more than 1,000 of your neighbors.

Let It Snow

While long-range forecasts vary, Arlington again hopes for the best — something like last winter’s lone one-day blast — while preparing for the worst. And remember that residents play a vital role in dealing with winter’s impact:

Coordinate with neighbors to park cars on one side of the street, where feasible, or avoid on-street parking so snowplow operators can efficiently clear a wider span of roadway

Don’t park “head in” on cul-de-sacs so plows have more room to maneuver

And Mom and Dad Can Hardly Wait for School to Start Again

With the Arlington Public Schools Winter Holiday running from Dec. 24, 2018 through Jan. 4, 2019, children in the County — and perhaps their parents, too — will be looking for fun seasonal activities. Fortunately, both Parks & Rec and Arlington Public Libraries have programs and classes to help keep every kid on the nice list.

Winter Break Camps — Kids can enjoy a variety of activities during DPR’s Kids in Action Winter Break Camps including fitness, health and nutrition, and creative arts, while those 10-14 years old will have fun games and trips with friends.

Holiday Drop and Shop — Parents, here is a great opportunity to get that holiday shopping completed. Drop off your child for a fun-filled evening of activities (obstacle courses, tumble tramp, foam pit, games and more) at Barcroft Sport & Fitness Center.Pizza and drink will be provided. $40 per child (ages 4-6). Sign up at registration.arlingtonva.us, activity #110510.

Upcycling Holiday Crafts: Book Trees — Join Glencarlyn Branch Library as they tap into some book-ish creativity by creating altered book holiday trees for a festive, literary centerpiece on Dec. 17.

Write a letter to Santa — On Dec. 18, kids can get help writing a letter to Santa. Everything you need will be provided at the Glencarlyn Branch Library.

Rockin’ Recyclin’ Around the Christmas Tree

Wondering what to do with that Christmas tree after the holidays? During the first two full weeks of each January, Christmas trees are collected curbside for residential homes with trash and recycling service. (Reminder: get the tree on the curb no later than 6 a.m., and remove all decorations.)

The trees will be transformed by the Department of Environmental Services into wood mulch for gardens. After Jan. 19, please prepare the tree for yard waste collection on your regular trash collection day.

Residents who don’t have curbside recycling service can bring Christmas trees to the Solid Waste Bureau during the Christmas tree collection season. Call 703-228-6570 to schedule an appointment, Mon.-Fri., 8 a.m.-3 p.m.

Take advantage of small metal recycling for items like pots and pans, tools and venetian blinds. Give new life to old bicycles, which are fixed and shipped overseas for use as basic, reliable transportation.

The County’s spring E-CARE recycling and disposal event, held in March, collected 88,728 pounds of household hazardous materials and 24,770 pounds of used electronics.

Keeping with the theme of a cleaner Arlington and world, check with neighbors in advance to combine loads and reduce the total number of trips to the site. E-CARE is an officially listed America Recycles Day (Nov. 15) event.

Things to know if you’re coming on Saturday

When possible, place all drop-off materials in the original containers or label them clearly. Leaking containers should be inside an extra protective layer.

A fee is required only to dispose of older, bulkier televisions ($20) and computer monitors ($15) containing cathode ray tubes. Cash or checks only — made payable to “Arlington County Treasurer.” Disposal of all other screen and monitor types is free.

A $10 tax-deductible donation to “Bikes of the World” is requested per bicycle to cover shipping costs.

Commercial and medical waste, asbestos, explosives and similar materials will not be accepted. Smoking is strictly prohibited at the drop-off site.

To make unloading faster, pack vehicles in reverse order of the on-site E-CARE drop-off route: electronics should go in first, household hazardous materials next, then lastly and most accessible — metals and bicycles.

Police will be on North Quincy Street to help residents access and exit the drop-off site from the northbound lane only.

E-CARE gives residents the one-stop opportunity to safely dispose of hazardous household materials (HHM) that have accumulated over the summer or even years. There’s also the opportunity to recycle bikes, small metal items, shoes, clothing and other materials.

HHM are products found around the home that are flammable, corrosive, poisonous or otherwise potentially hazardous. They include items like automotive fluid, car-care products, fluorescent light bulbs, corrosives, household cleaners and propane gas cylinders.

Tip: Save trips to the Yorktown collection site by bringing along items from neighbors.

Earth Day returns April 22 for its 47th year of raising public consciousness about the environment. Arlington will celebrate this Saturday as the County – through fundamental programs and events – continues to work toward a sustainable planet year-round.

Four Mile Run at Mount Vernon Bridge.

“The County and the community work together constantly to preserve natural space, protect native plants and animals and build a balanced future,” said Arlington County Board Chair Jay Fisette. “This year’s theme of ‘Every Day is Earth Day’ encourages residents to take action in protecting what we have and in making Arlington even a bit more green and sustainable for ourselves, our children and their children.”

Promoting recycling:

In Fiscal Year 2016, we collected 73.42 tons of e-waste for recycling through our ECRC and E-CARE events.

Year-round yard waste services began April 1, 2016 and in the last year the program diverted approximately 6,821 tons of compostable material from the waste stream. That is 26 percent higher than our goal of capturing 50 percent of the 9,000 tons during the first year.

The County continues to work toward Zero Waste, which aims to divert 90 percent of the County’s waste away from landfills or waste to energy facilities by 2038.

Preserving nature:

The County continues to protect its wildlife habitats that are home to 755,400 trees of at least 122 species. The annual benefits include reducing storm and floodwater runoff by 10,730,168 cubic feet, removing about 1,235 tons of air pollution, storing about 30,900 cars worth of carbon emissions and adding 1,500 more cars worth of carbon every year while preventing more than $1 million in avoided energy costs through shade and reflected heat.

The County started construction last fall on the Four Mile Run restoration project, which will create living shorelines, new native plantings and restored wildlife habitat along the Four Mile Run stream.

Saving energy, saving money:

The Arlington Initiative to Rethink Energy (AIRE) is partnering with VA SUN and Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment (ACE) to launch a 2017 solar co-op for Arlington, along with other Northern Virginia residents. The group will use a competitive bidding process to select a single company that will install solar power systems that members will buy together to save money and share knowledge.

As a semi-finalist in Georgetown University Energy Prize, Arlington County is competing against communities across the country to save the most energy and take home the $5 million dollar prize.

Arlington County is competing in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Better Buildings Challenge to reduce municipal building energy usage by 20 percent by the year 2020.

Sustaining a bicycle friendly community:

More than one hundred miles of multi-use trails, on-street bike lanes and designated bike routes make it easy for cyclists to get where they need to go in Arlington.

HHM are products found around the home that are flammable, corrosive, poisonous or potentially hazardous. They include items like automotive fluid, car-care products, fluorescent light bulbs, corrosives, household cleaners and propane gas cylinders.

Remember: It’s illegal to dump hazardous materials on the ground or down storm sewers.

Tip: Save trips to the collection site by collecting drop-off items from neighbors.

Place all materials in the original container or label them clearly. Place any leaking containers inside an extra protective layer. Bring ID to confirm work or residency in Arlington.

]]>Late Winter Pruning Time for Shrubs and Treeshttps://newsroom.arlingtonva.us/release/late-winter-pruning-time-for-shrubs-and-trees/
Thu, 02 Mar 2017 16:30:44 +0000https://newsroom.arlingtonva.us/?post_type=news_release&p=11346It’s been an odd winter for our region. Very little snow and some days that felt more like May than February.

Still, spring doesn’t arrive officially for a few weeks and we can expect some last blasts of cold weather between now and then.

So take advantage of late winter for some late-winter pruning.

It’s the ideal time of the season to use your pruning tools to improve the health and growing habits of your woody plants. The effort will make your gardening easier later in the year.

The process starts with clean, working, safe tools. Basic maintenance is essential, especially on power equipment like chainsaws and hedge trimmers. Don’t be afraid to get help from a professional.

Late winter pruning is part of an overall plant health regimen, managing not only a plant’s size but also training its growth and encouraging renewed bloom and fruit production. Pruning also decreases the chance of insect or disease infestation in warm weather.

Know your plants

For best results, know your plants and when they bloom. You can prune dead, diseased, dying and storm-damaged wood any time of year, but the optimal timing of size reduction and shaping for healthy plants does vary.

If you have plants that bloom after May, flower buds will be formed on this year’s new growth. Examples of such plants include crape myrtle, cotoneaster, St. John’s wort, abelia, clethra, Rose of Sharon and most woody plants not grown for their flowers. These plants should be cut now, in late winter, before growth starts in the spring.

If you have woody plants that bloom before June, their flower buds were actually formed last year. Examples: azaleas, forsythia, kerria, lilac, flowering almond and most fruit and ornamental flowering trees. Prune after they bloom and not after July, when flower development for next year is initiated.

Don’t forget: Dispose of the trimmings in your Arlington green bin or paper yard bags. The organic contents are collected once a week along with your trash and recycling. Composting could be a great option too.

Some valuable guidelines

When reducing the overall size of a shrub, stagger your cuts throughout to optimize new growth at different levels.

Never remove more than a third of a plant in any one season; the leaves manufacture food.

Always cut back to just above a side shoot or a bud pointing in the direction that you want your plant to grow; pruning stimulates new growth.

Prune crowded and overlapping growth from the center of a plant to improve air circulation. Try to remove branches that are crossing or rubbing each other.

Prune to optimize exposure to light; hedges should be wider at the base than at the top.

When working with extended pole saws, don’t stand directly beneath the branch to be cut.

Prune with both feet on the ground and hold power tools with both hands.

Root pruning can be done in preparation for moving a plant or to put a plant in a smaller space.

Free green-thumb inspiration around Arlington

A full list of pruning and woody plant maintenance publications can be found on the Virginia Cooperative Extension website.

Visit the Virginia Cooperative Extension’s Horticulture Help Desk weekdays from 9 a.m. to noon at the Fairlington Community Center 3308 S. Stafford St. The desk offers free flower and vegetable seeds and soil testing forms and containers.

Arlington Public Library hosts a wide variety of garden talks and programs during warmer months plus a handy garden tool lending collection at Central Library. “The Shed” is open March to November to residents and property owners with a library card.

Special thanks to Kirsten Ann Conrad of the Virginia Cooperative Extension, Agriculture and Natural Resources.

The Arlington County Board has approved moving the self-service recycling center at Columbia Pike and Four Mile Run Drive to the nearby Arlington Trades Center on South Taylor Street at South Arlington Mill Drive.

The Board voted 5-0 to approve a use permit that will allow the 1.5-mile move from the current facility to the new location. The new location will be called the “Trades Center Recycling Center and Earth Products Recycling Yard.” To read the staff report on this item, visit the County website. Scroll down to Item No. 18 on the agenda for the Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016 Recessed County Board Meeting.

“This is a much better solution for the recycling center,” said Arlington County Board Chair Libby Garvey. “We already do a lot of recycling at the Trades Center, and County workers will be better able to monitor recycling at this location, to make sure the site is maintained properly and remains litter-free.”

Broad recycling program at Trades Center

The County already has a broad recycling program at the Trades Center. Leaves and yard waste are collected and recycled into leaf and wood mulch, which is provided free to residents, or used for County landscaping projects. Also, inert materials brought to the facility, such as dirt, asphalt and concrete, are processed and re-used in County road and other construction projects.

Residents have expressed concerns in recent years about the current facility’s appearance at a busy intersection and instances of illegal dumping. The switch to the Trades Center, the major support facility for County infrastructure and transportation, will allow for better monitoring, ensuring better maintenance and cleanliness.

Recycling center hours will match Trades Center entry gate hours

The site at Columbia Pike and Four Mile Run Drive had been accessible 24-hours a day. The new recycling center hours will match those of the Trades Center entry gates: Monday through Friday, 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturday, 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Closed Sundays and holidays.

The new center will likely be ready for use by mid-January.

Outreach

County staff made presentations about the potential move, and offered Trades Center tours for homeowner groups and civic associations.

The fiscal impact from the move is expected to be minimal.

Arlington’s Trades Center offers free mulch to residents.

Recycling in Arlington

In Fiscal Year 2016, the County collected the equivalent of 254 tons of material from the Four Mile Run recycling center.

Arlington offers a second self-serve recycling site at the southeast corner of Washington Boulevard and Quincy Street in Quincy Park.

Residents and small businesses in Arlington can use both facilities free of charge. Center bins accept single stream recyclable materials, including mixed paper, cardboard, metal cans, plastic bottles, food containers and glass.

E-CARE gives residents the one-stop opportunity to safely dispose of hazardous household materials (HHM) that have accumulated over the summer or even years. There’s also the opportunity to recycle bikes, small metal items, shoes, clothing and other materials.

HHM are products found around the home that are flammable, corrosive, poisonous or otherwise potentially hazardous. They include items like automotive fluid, car-care products, fluorescent light bulbs, corrosives, household cleaners and propane gas cylinders.

Tip: Save trips to the collection site by bringing along items from neighbors.

]]>A Week’s Recognition for the Work That Never Stopshttps://newsroom.arlingtonva.us/release/a-weeks-recognition-for-the-work-that-never-stops/
Tue, 17 May 2016 15:48:31 +0000https://newsroom.arlingtonva.us/?post_type=news_release&p=8189It’s National Public Works Week but to keep things running in Arlington, you need a year-round, 24/7 effort.

Drinking water, trash, public transit, the sewers, streets and sidewalks rarely take a holiday. Even County buildings need someone to maintain them, and it’s hard to vacuum or paint during regular business hours.

Just some of what the Department of Environmental Services has done over the past year:

Collected some 34,000 tons of trash and another 31,000 tons of recycling curbside

Carried more than 2.8 million passengers on Arlington Transit (ART) bus trips

Paved 92 of the County’s 974 lane miles

Filled 12,100 potholes in 2015, and 4,917 so far in 2016

Cleaned and lined 57,000 linear feet of storm sewer pipe

Fixed 217 water main breaks

Replaced approximately three miles of water mains

Cleaned and lined 2,300 linear feet of water mains

Collected more than 2,300 tons of debris and sediment through street sweeping

“Every time you leave collection bins at the curb, pause for the crosswalk light or run the tap to brush your teeth, you’re interacting with the County’s Department of Environmental Services,” County Manager Mark Schwartz says.

“Sometimes the best work is the work you don’t notice,” Schwartz adds. “In Arlington we’re fortunate to have such dedicated, skillful men and women supporting our vital infrastructure.”

National Public Works Week ends Saturday but Arlington’s Environmental Services will always be on the job.

]]>We Get Lettershttps://newsroom.arlingtonva.us/release/we-get-letters/
Wed, 20 Apr 2016 18:52:21 +0000http://newsroom.arlingtonva.us/?post_type=news_release&p=7874Every day, the County Board hears from residents on a wide range of topics and concerns. We thought we would share two of the letters we received recently, from young Arlingtonians who eloquently urged the Board to take action.

The first was from 11-year-old Genevieve Gordon.

“I am writing to you because I want chickens,” Genevieve declared. She and her family had visited a farm in Germany “and they had adorable baby chicks, so I asked my parents, ‘can I get some baby chickens?”

Her parents, Genevieve said, “thought it was a great idea.” But when they looked into the County’s regulations, they discovered that the family does not have enough yard space to be allowed to raise chickens.

Genevieve’s “ask” of the Board was straightforward: “I was hoping you could alter the laws so we could have chickens,” she wrote. “I know that this is a lot to ask, and I completely understand if you cannot change this law.”

A photo posted by Arlington County (@arlingtoncountyva) on Apr 21, 2016 at 11:28am PDT

Community liaison Robert Sharpe responded:

Dear Genevieve,

Thank you for contacting the Arlington County Board about baby chickens. The County Board wants to hear the concerns of residents and it’s great that an 11-year-old is writing them. I am following up at the request of the County Board.

We looked into making it easier for Arlington residents to keep chickens a few years ago. Baby chickens become big grown up chickens and some people were worried about having chickens as neighbors. Even though many other people wanted chickens, we decided not to allow them in small yards.

The baby chickens you saw on the farm in Germany probably had a lot of space to play. The farm neighbors probably did not mind the chickens, in fact they probably had chickens too. We are more like a city here in Arlington, so the pets we allow in Arlington are pets that do well in cities.

Can you ask your parents if you can get a different pet? The Animal Welfare League of Arlington has puppies, kittens and small animals like bunnies, hamsters and mice. My 11-year-old adopted a very nice two-year old cat. He is very playful and doesn’t get into mischief like a kitten, at least not too much. We named him Oliver.

If your parents give you permission, please look at www.awla.org on a computer or ipad and see if there are any animals you might like. You would be doing a good thing by adopting a shelter animal in need of a new home. All the animals there make good pets for a place like Arlington and your neighbors should like them too.

Thank you again for writing the Arlington County Board.

The second was from 7th-grader Oliver Stearns.

“I respectfully ask that you would start a program to clean all of the worms from the dirt and yard debris that you receive in the green organic bins that you have recently distributed,” Oliver wrote, referring to the County’s recent launching of a year-round yard waste program. Under the program, residents may dispose of yard waste year-round in green bins distributed by the County.

“I would wish for you to do this because worms are excellent and essential for maintaining a healthy and beautiful garden. In fact they act as a natural fertilizer, leaving behind droppings that do the same job as manmade fertilize,” Oliver continued. “My name is Oliver Stearns and I’m in 7th grade in Arlington and am concerned about the amount of worms that may be wasted in the green bins.”

Oliver noted that “according to University of Illinois 500,000 worms could make up to 50 pounds of fertilizer….that same 500,000 worms can make a drainage system equivalent to a 2,000 foot long pipe. Amazing!”

The middle-schooler asked that the County Board “create a program in which all of the worms that you receive in the Green Organic Waste Disposal Bins will be picked out and put into vials and then redistributed back to the people of Arlington County. That way we may be able to cut down upon fertilizer runoff from lawns which ay improve the water quality of nearby streams which would eventually improve the water quality of bodies of water farther down the way. Please take my suggestion into account and save the two inch worms that we rely on so much.”